Three militants involved in attack on BJP leader’s house killed in Pulwama: J&K police

Personnel were fired upon while conducting a cordon-and-search operation

Three local militants affiliated with the Al-Badr outfit, two of whom were involved in yesterday’s attack on a BJP leader’s house in Srinagar, were killed in a pre-dawn encounter with security forces in the Kakapora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Friday.

The gunfight erupted after a joint team of the Army’s 50 Rashtriya Rifles and J&K police launched a cordon-and-search operation (CASO) in Ghat Mohalla, Kakpora, 26 km from here, on specific information about the presence of militants there, reports said.

Inspector General Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the militants refused to surrender despite repeated offers and instead made five civilians hostage. “That’s why the operation got delayed. Contact with them was established at 4.35 am.”

“In the ensuing encounter, three militants identified as Suhail Nisar Lone, Yasir Wani and Junaid Ahmed, all residents of Pulwama were killed,” he said.

While Lone and Wani had joined militancy in February this year Ahmad had become an ultra just last month. Police said Suhail and Junaid were involved in yesterday’s Nowgam attack in which a policeman Rameez Raja from Anantnag district was killed after his rifle was snatched.

“Suhail is the one who was wearing burqa during the attack. Suhail and Junaid were affiliated with the Al-Badr outfit. From their possession, we recovered one Ak-47 rifle, one pistol and the SLR rifle number 51392. This is the same SLR that was snatched from Nowgam attack site,” the IGP said, adding that “this makes clear that the slain duo was involved in yesterday’s Nowgam attack.”

He said two more militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba - Obaid and Shahid - both residents of Srinagar are still on the run. “Preliminary investigations reveal that the Lashkar and the Al-Badr had jointly carried out the Nowgam attack. We solved the case in less than 24 hours,” Kumar said.

He said that the vehicle (JK13-E2098) that was used by Suhail and Junaid from Nowgam to Pulwama was found outside the house where today’s encounter happened. “The vehicle belongs to the house owner where the encounter took place,” the IGP added.

Kumar revealed that six militants, including the two wanted in the Nowgam attack, are active in Srinagar city. “We are working on leads and very soon they will be arrested, killed or brought back,” he said and asserted that the police will not allow the situation in Srinagar to turn bad.

Meanwhile, reports said at least eleven people were injured in the clashes with security that broke out near the gunfight site. A local news portal quoting Dr Gulzar Ahmad, Block Medical Officer, Pampore, reported that the hospital received ten civilians with pellet injuries while a woman suffered a bullet wound.

However, the IGP Kashmir said, a woman sustained a bullet wound in her leg during cross-firing while three civilians sustained pellet injuries. “All are stable,” he added.